Cosatu urges action to protect jobs and save the Mail & Guardian
Labour federation Cosatu, like many progressive South Africans, is concerned by the plight of workers at the Mail & Guardian — and this legendary newspaper itself.
Labour federation Cosatu, like many progressive South Africans, is concerned by the plight of workers at the
Mail & Guardian
— and this legendary newspaper itself.
Recent and quite depressing media reports suggest that this pillar of South Africa's media landscape is experiencing severe financial difficulties and the staff have been served with retrenchment notices.
This is a matter that Cosatu is not only distressed by, but cannot afford to remain silent about.
While media houses around the world, including South Africa, have struggled with the transition from print to electronic media, and the proliferation of free and often fake news sites, South Africa can ill afford to see the M&G close its doors, let alone retrench staff.
Cosatu cannot agree to a single worker losing their job and threaten to plunge their families into despair and poverty. More so when we are battling a 43.1% unemployment rate and when appreciating that the media landscape will struggle to absorb so many workers.
The M&G is not just any newspaper. During the darkest days of apartheid, the then Weekly Mail and its journalists shone a spotlight on the apartheid regime, giving hope to a nation under siege and helping to mobilise the international community in support of the liberation struggle.
Post-1994, the M&G has continued to seek a niche space for itself as a progressive investigative newspaper.
We are convinced that the M&G can and must be saved, more so given its relatively small staff footprint of just over 25.
It is urgent that the owner of this proud newspaper, Hoosain Karjieker, works with staff, Cosatu and other stakeholders, to find a solution — one that does not involve gutting the newspaper.
We appreciate that since Cosatu made its voice heard on this issue, Mr Karjieker has reached out and has availed himself to meet the federation to discuss this situation further, and we hope to help find solutions that will save the paper and its employees' jobs.
All too often, including in the media sector, workers have seen employers, often out of their depth, simply mismanage companies and newspapers into the ground, including failing to honour the various financial commitments, and then dump the bill upon workers.
Alternatives to retrenchment
The Labour Relations Act requires all employers to meaningfully engage workers and unions on alternatives to retrenchments.
These engagements must be in good faith and allow workers and their unions to table alternatives that must be considered by the employer.
The employer must share their full financial reports with workers and their unions during these engagements. This is a legal requirement.
The reported rush to retrench workers and gut the M&G is a worrying sign that the employer views the LRA as little more than a tick box exercise and is determined to retrench workers at all costs.
The employer needs to appreciate that their employees are the greatest asset and, without them, a turnaround plan will fail.
Gutting the M&G newsroom will reduce it to little more than a university newsletter, not the institution it has been. It would very likely be a death sentence for this company.
Engagements with staff need to be meaningful. Not only must the full state of the paper's finances, debts and other financial obligations be revealed but practical solutions and alternatives to retrenchments must be tabled, costed, considered and given a fair chance to succeed.
These need to look at where costs can be saved without retrenching staff; where alternative revenue sources can be found, including moving fully digital; a ramped-up advertising drive; and partnerships with local and international media.
While a turnaround plan is put in place, the Unemployment Insurance Fund should be approached through the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration to activate its Temporary Employee Relief Scheme, which will help cover the salaries of the staff over six months. But this relief is conditional upon the employer committing to not retrenching staff.
Potential new owners with deeper financial pockets should be sought. Pride or embarrassment should not be a hindrance while the livelihoods of so many staff are in danger of being lost.
The Weekly Mail published its first paper on 14 June 1985, so the M&G would be celebrating its 40th anniversary this week. This is a tragedy given its heroic role in the struggle against apartheid and for our constitutional democracy, that instead it has been plunged into a life and death fight for survival.
Cosatu believes that all steps must be put in place to save the paper and its employees' jobs. A turnaround plan should be activated and support sought from the UIF. If these cannot be done, then a new owner must be found for this bastion of progressive media freedom.
The federation will be providing and ramping up its full support to the workers at the M&G during this difficult period, including the options of finding a new owner, to save these workers' jobs and this proud paper.
Solly Phetoe is the general secretary of Cosatu.
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